Organismal death is a process of systemic collapse whose mechanisms are less well understood than those of cell death. We previously reported that death in C. elegans is accompanied by a calcium-propagated wave of intestinal necrosis, marked by a wave of blue autofluorescence (death fluorescence). Here, we describe another feature of organismal death, a wave of body wall muscle contraction, or death contraction (DC). This phenomenon is accompanied by a wave of intramuscular Ca2+ release and, subsequently, of intestinal necrosis...

Gemfibrozil (GEM) and carbamazepine (CBZ) are two environmentally relevant pharmaceuticals and chronic exposure of fish to these compounds has decreased androgen levels and fish reproduction in laboratory studies. The main focus of this study was to examine the effects of GEM and CBZ on testicular steroid production, using zebrafish as a model species. Chronic water borne exposures of adult zebrafish to 10 μg/L of GEM and CBZ were conducted and the dosing was confirmed by chemical analysis of water as 17...

A 49-year-old man was referred to a neighboring hospital with a chief complaint of abdominal pain.He was diagnosed with locally advanced body-tail pancreatic cancer that had invaded the celiac artery and SMA.He came to our department after undergoing radiotherapy, 2.5 Gy×22 Fr, and chemotherapy with gemcitabine(GEM)and S-1.The same chemotherapy was continued for 15 months until DIC occurred.He was subsequently treated with GEM only and then S-1 only in sequence for 6 years.We decided to stop the chemotherapy because the original lesion had been stable for a long time...

BACKGROUND: Young Australians aged between 18 and 30 years have experienced the largest increase in the body mass index and spend the largest proportion of their food budget on fast food and eating out. Frequent consumption of foods purchased and eaten away from home has been linked to poorer diet quality and weight gain. There has been no Australian research regarding quantities, type, or the frequency of consumption of food prepared outside the home by young adults and its impact on their energy and nutrient intakes...

2'-C-cyano-2'-deoxy-1-β-D-arabino-pentofranocyl-cytosine (DFP-10917, CNDAC) is a 2'-deoxycytidine analog with antitumor activity against various tumor cells. However, a clinically available therapeutic regimen for this compound needs to be established and its functional mechanisms in relation to the dosing schedule need to be clarified. In this study, we evaluated the antitumor activity and toxicity of DFP-10917 by varying the dose and administration schedule in human solid tumor and leukemia xenografts in vivo...

Undifferentiated spindle-cell sarcoma (USCS) is a recalcitrant -cancer in need of individualized therapy. A high-grade USCS from a striated muscle of a patient was grown orthotopically in the right biceps femoris muscle of nude mice to establish a patient-derived orthotopic xenograft (PDOX) model. In a previous study, we evaluated the efficacy of standard first-line chemotherapy of doxorubicin (DOX), gemcitabine (GEM) combined with docetaxel (DOC), compared to pazopanib (PAZ), a multi-targeting tyrosine-kinase inhibitor, in an USCS PDOX model...

Purpose: To develop statistical dose-volume histogram (DVH)-based metrics and a visualization method to quantify the comparison of treatment plans with historical experience and among different institutions. Methods and materials: The descriptive statistical summary (ie, median, first and third quartiles, and 95% confidence intervals) of volume-normalized DVH curve sets of past experiences was visualized through the creation of statistical DVH plots. Detailed distribution parameters were calculated and stored in JavaScript Object Notation files to facilitate management, including transfer and potential multi-institutional comparisons...

Existing research indicates that repetitive motions are strongly correlated with the development of work-related musculoskeletal disorders (WMSDs). Resulting from the redundant degrees-of-freedom in the human body, there are variations in motions that occur while performing a repetitive task. These variations are termed motor variability (MV), and may be beneficial for reducing WMSD risks. To better understand the potential role of MV in preventing injury risk, we evaluated the effects of fatigue on MV using data collected during a lab-based prolonged, repetitive lifting/lowering task...

BACKGROUND: Gastrointestinal Stromal Tumours (GISTs) are the most common mesenchymal tumours. Currently, different pharmacological and surgical options are used to treat localised and metastatic GISTs, although this research field is broad and the body of evidence is scattered and expanding. Our objectives are to identify, describe and organise the current available evidence for GIST through an evidence mapping approach. METHODS: We followed the methodology of Global Evidence Mapping (GEM)...

PURPOSE: In this study we systematically investigated different Dynamic Contrast Enhancement (DCE)-MRI protocols in the spine, with the goal of finding an optimal protocol that provides data suitable for quantitative pharmacokinetic modelling (PKM). MATERIALS AND METHODS: In 13 patients referred for MRI of the spine, DCE-MRI of the spine was performed with 2D and 3D MRI protocols on a 3T Philips Ingenuity MR system. A standard bolus of contrast agent (Dotarem - 0...

PURPOSE: S-1 has systemic activity for locally advanced pancreatic cancer (LAPC). Here, the efficacy and safety of induction gemcitabine (GEM) and S-1 (GS) followed by chemoradiotherapy (CRT) and systemic chemotherapy using S-1 for LAPC were assessed. METHODS: The treatment consisted of four cycles of induction GS (S-1 60, 80, or 100 mg/day based on body surface area for 14 days every 3 weeks plus GEM 1000 mg/m(2) on days 8 and 15), followed by S-1 (80, 100, or 120 mg/day based on body surface area on days 1-14 and 22-35) and concurrent radiotherapy (50...

BACKGROUND: Pancreas adenocarcinoma is the sixth cause of cancer-related death worldwide with an increasing mortality in the Western countries. Recently, the association between nab-paclitaxel (nab-P) and gemcitabine (GEM) has significantly improved progression-free and overall survival. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Patients affected by metastatic pancreas adenocarcinoma were treated at the Department of Abdominal Oncology of the National Cancer Institute of Naples from July 2015 to July 2016 with nab-P at 125 mg per square meter of body-surface area followed by GEM at 1,000 mg per square meter on days 1, 8 and 15 every 4 weeks...

Growing evidence links perceived stress-a potentially modifiable psychosocial risk factor-with health behaviors and obesity. Yet little is known about the relationship between stress during pregnancy and gestational weight gain, particularly among women with pregnancy complications. We conducted a cross-sectional analysis to examine associations between psychosocial stress during pregnancy and gestational weight gain among women with gestational diabetes. We used baseline data from the Gestational Diabetes's Effects on Moms (GEM) study: 1,353 women with gestational diabetes who delivered a term singleton within Kaiser Permanente Northern California were included...

Late Infantile Neuronal Ceroid Lipofuscinosis (LINCL) is a rare neurodegenerative disease caused by mutations in the Cln2 gene that leads to deficiency or loss of function of the tripeptidyl peptidase 1 (TPP1) enzyme. TPP1 deficiency is known to cause the accumulation of autofluoroscent lipid-protein pigments in brain. Similar to other neurodegenerative disorders, LINCL is also associated with neuroinflammation and neuronal damage. Despite investigations, no effective therapy is currently available for LINCL...

Undifferentiated spindle-cell sarcoma (USCS) is a recalcitrant -cancer. Our laboratory pioneered the patient-derived orthotopic xenograft (PDOX) nude mouse model with the technique of surgical orthotopic implantation (SOI). In the present study, we evaluated the efficacy of standard first-line chemistry of doxorubicin (DOX), gemcitabine (GEM) combined with docetaxel (DOC), compared to pazopanib (PAZ), a multi-targeting tyrosine-kinase inhibitor, in an USCS PDOX model. A high-grade USCS from a striated muscle of the patients was grown orthotopically in the right biceps femoris muscle of nude mice to establish the PDOX model...

BACKGROUND: Pancreatic adenocarcinoma is one of the leading causes of cancer deaths in Japan.Albumin -bound paclitaxel (nab-paclitaxel)plus gemcitabine hydrochloride(GEM)combination chemotherapy provided significant improvements in the overall and progression-free survival in a phase III trial in Europe and America and a phase II trial in Japan.As a result, this combination therapy was approved for use in Japan. METHODS: We evaluated the efficacy of nab-paclitaxel plus GEM with metastatic or recurrent pancreatic cancer...

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is an autoimmune disease with both genetic and environmental risk factors. Recent studies indicate that childhood and adolescent obesity double the risk of MS, but this association may reflect unmeasured confounders rather than causal effects of obesity. We used separate-sample Mendelian randomization to estimate the causal effect of body mass index (BMI) on susceptibility to MS. Using data from non-Hispanic white members of the Kaiser Permanente Medical Care Plan of Northern California (KPNC) (2006-2014; 1,104 cases of MS and 10,536 controls) and a replication data set from Sweden (the Epidemiological Investigation of MS (EIMS) and the Genes and Environment in MS (GEMS) studies, 2005-2013; 5,133 MS cases and 4,718 controls), we constructed a weighted genetic risk score using 97 variants previously established to predict BMI...

The availability and the stability of current anticancer agents, particularly water-insoluble drugs, are still far from satisfactory. A widely used anticancer drug, gemcitabine (GEM), is so poorly stable in circulation that some polymeric drug-delivery systems have been under development for some time to improve its therapeutic index. Herein, we designed, prepared, and characterized a biodegradable amphiphilic block N-(2-hydroxypropyl) methacrylamide (HPMA) copolymer-GEM conjugate-based nanoscale and stimuli-sensitive drug-delivery vehicle...